Senate candidate Jon Ossoff amassed nearly $3 million in the month of July for his bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue, thanks partly to a cash infusion after the incumbent’s campaign manipulated the Democrat’s image in a digital ad.
Ossoff said Tuesday he raised about $1 million in the five days after Perdue’s campaign was forced to delete a digital ad that enlarged Ossoff’s nose, which triggered accusations that he was evoking anti-Semitic tropes.
In all, the campaign said it received nearly 28,000 contributions from first-time donors to help him collect about $2.9 million in July.
Ossoff, who raised more than $30 million during his 2017 special election campaign, is racing to rebuild that fundraising machine. He has recently out-paced Perdue in this contest, though the incumbent has far more -- about $10.7 million -- in the bank.
The Republican also enjoys an advantage with outside groups, which have poured resources into a race that some polls suggest is deadlocked.
A review of ad buys shows the Senate Leadership Fund and the pro-Perdue One Nation PAC have reserved roughly $27 million in spending this fall, while groups backing Ossoff have so far committed to about $8 million.
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